Heavy rains, flooding predicted to plague South Florida starting Sunday through next week

Forecasters are still unsure whether a tropical depression or storm will form in the Gulf of Mexico; however, one thing is becoming more certain: South Florida is in for heavy rains.

The system being watched by the National Hurricane Center is bringing showers and thunderstorms that are forecast to affect much of Florida, including regions recently ravaged by Hurricane Helene.

READ MORE: System in Caribbean might not form, but Florida could still feel its heavy rains

Regardless of the system’s formation, which is projected to occur early to mid-next week, the National Weather Service of Miami said South Florida, in particular, is expected to see periods of heavy rain.

The projected rainfall totals will fluctuate in the coming days as the disturbance is still far way. As of Friday morning, the greatest concern for rain is expected to begin on Sunday and continue through the middle of next week. The region is forecast to get 4 to 8 inches of rain, with some areas seeing up to 10 to 12 inches.

Flood advisories

The weather service issued a flood advisory Friday morning for portions of southeastern Palm Beach County and northeastern Broward County including Pompano and Deerfield Beach. So far 1.5 to 2.5 inches of rain has fallen in the areas.

A flood advisory is a couple steps below a flash flood warning, which is when flash flooding is imminent.

By Friday afternoon, the weather service warned that if the current forecast trend continued, a flood watch would likely be issued for South Florida at some point this weekend.

A flood watch is when flooding is possible but likely not bad enough for a warning, according to the NWS. The weather service urges people to stay alert and ready to move to higher ground if flooding does occur.

“Unfortunately, beyond this general threat of heavy rainfall, the forecast details (namely the timing and placement of the max rainfall) remain fuzzy...,” the National Weather Service said.

The weather service’s forecasts show that the chances of rain and thunderstorms are above 70% from Sunday onward.

Forecasters already warn that much of South Florida is fairly saturated with water after several months of the “wet season.” This means it could take only a few inches of rainfall to cause significant flash flooding in poor drainage areas.

Forecasters said there is one positive from the expected heavy rains: Abundant cloud cover and rain mean high temperatures will stay in the low to mid-80s, breaking from recent sweltering heat.

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